April 7, 2015

{{Launch Day Blitz}} Jessica Sorensen’s NOVA AND QUINTON: NO REGRETS

First time in print! The third book in the Nova and
Quinton series by #1 New York
Times and USA Today bestselling
author Jessica Sorensen.

Synopsis

The
toxic guilt of his past left Quinton Carter in pieces-until one girl
unexpectedly put him back together. Thanks to Nova Reed, Quinton sees the world
with clear eyes. And though he'd eventually love to hold her in his arms every
day... he's not ready yet.

Playing drums in a band and living with her best friends are just some of the
highlights of Nova's life. But the best new development? Talking to Quinton on
the phone each night. She wishes she could be with him, but she knows he needs
time to heal. Yet, shocking news is on the way, and Nova will need Quinton like
he once needed her. Is he strong enough to leap out of his broken past...and
into Nova's heart?

Excerpt

Prologue

Nova

December
28, the day of the funeral

It’s a strange feeling, getting ready to
watch someone get put under the ground into their final resting place. I’ve
been to enough funerals to know that my senses always become hyper-aware of everything
going on around me: the touch of the wind seems stronger, the sun a little more
blinding, the smell of the leaves, grass, and fresh dirt overpowering. It’s
like my mind is reaching out and trying to grasp each aspect of the moment,
when part of me wants nothing more than to forget.

I’m actually at the church earlier than I’m
supposed to be and I don’t even know why, other than that sitting home for a
second longer just didn’t seem possible. So I left the house without telling
anyone and got in my cherry-red Chevy Nova, the car my dad left to me when he
died, and drove it to the church where my dad’s and Landon’s funeral took
place. And in just a bit, I’ll say good-bye to another person I once knew and
will never see again.

Now that I’m here, staring at the brick
building with a white tower pointing to the sky, I’m not sure what I should do.
I’m three hours early to a funeral, which might say a lot about me. A lot of
people would likely show up late, wanting to avoid death for as long as
possible, but I’ve become so familiar with it it’s unsettling.

After sitting in the car for about ten
minutes, watching snowflakes fall from the sky and frost the grass and the
windshield, I decide to take video instead. I didn’t bring the fancy camera my
mom gave me, but the one on my phone works and honestly I use that one a lot
more because it’s handy for sporadic recording, which seems to be my specialty.

I blow out a deep breath as I sit back in the
seat, aim the camera at myself, and hit record. I have the screen flipped to me
and my image immediately pops up. I look tired. The bags under my eyes are
pretty obvious, even though I’ve tried to cover them up with makeup, and my
brown hair wasn’t being cooperative so I ended up pulling it up into a
ponytail. I’m wearing a black dress and earrings and the contrast with my fair
skin makes me look pallid.

“It’s amazing how everything can seem so
perfect one moment and then suddenly it’s not. How quickly perfection can
evaporate… how rare it is.” I pause, gathering my thoughts. “I’ve seen a lot of
death. More than the normal person, probably. I watched my father’s life vanish
in front of me within minutes. Found my boyfriend’s body right after he took
his own life. Too early. Too suddenly. Both of them. I never had time to
prepare myself and I thought it was the worst feeling in the world. I always
wondered how different it would be, if it ever happened again. If maybe the
third or fourth time around, I wouldn’t hurt so badly. If it’d be easier
letting someone go now that I’ve had so much practice.” I tuck a fallen strand
of my bangs behind my ear and swallow the lump in my throat. “And maybe it has
gotten easier… but it still hurts. I still shed tears… it’s still agonizing…
painful…” I trail off as a few tears slip from my eyes and roll down my cheeks.
“Even now, just thinking about some of the stuff I saw… I should have stopped
it… should have done things differently…” I trail off, staring at the window.
“But I didn’t… and now they’re gone forever.”

Jessica
Sorensen is a #1 New York Times and USA
Today bestselling author who lives with her husband and three kids in
Idaho. When she's not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with
her family.